Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 95

95.

Gale moved like a blur, his sword aimed directly at Thompson.

Clang-!

Thompson reacted instantly, raising his shield to meet Gale’s attack.

Though caught off guard, Thompson’s experience as a 6-circle mage saved him from immediate death.

However, the force of the blow made Thompson’s hands tremble.

A fraction of a second slower, and Gale’s sword would have separated his head from his shoulders.

“B, block him!” Thompson yelled.

At his command, the mages unleashed a barrage of spells at Gale.

Ram and the knights, jolted back to reality, joined the fray.

They had momentarily lost track of Gale as he charged towards Thompson.

Ram bit his lip, realizing Thompson’s block had been more luck than skill.

‘Sword Master,’ he thought grimly.

He had repeatedly warned Thompson of the danger a Sword Master posed, yet he himself had grown complacent.

Gale was injured, and Ram had convinced himself that their combined strength – Thompson, the Riverhill mages, himself, and the knights – would be enough to secure victory.

Swish-!

Gale vanished again, and another mage’s head tumbled to the floor.

Boom-! Clang-!

The mages’ spells struck the empty space where Gale had been moments before.

Swish-! Swish-!

Ram and Thompson were paralyzed with fear.

They could only watch helplessly as more mages fell, their heads severed with terrifying speed.

Despite the blood staining his shoulder, Gale seemed to command the very space around him.

The Sword Master’s aura was far more potent than either Thompson or Ram had anticipated.

Their legs trembled, and they braced themselves for death.

They should have been fighting, casting spells, swinging their swords, but Gale’s aura held them captive, robbing them of their will to act.

“The, the Death Knight was strong,” Ram stammered, his mind struggling to reconcile what he was seeing with his preconceived notions.

He had witnessed the Death Knight wielding a black aura blade, but he couldn’t shake the ingrained belief that undead were inherently inferior.

Thompson felt the same way.

Undead were just undead. No matter how powerful a Death Knight was rumored to be, it was still undead and could never reach the realm of a master.

The Death Knight had simply gotten lucky in injuring Gale, and that had been their chance.

But it was all a delusion.

Ram and Thompson closed their eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

Some of the Atran knights attempted to flee, but they were cut down by aura blades from behind.

Splat-!

The knights’ screams echoed in Ram and Thompson’s ears, a horrifying prelude to their own demise.

“Ah, ah!” Ram cried out, finally collapsing.

What a pointless end this was.

He had envisioned killing the young Crown Prince and vying for the position of family head.

He had fantasized about becoming a war hero on the battlefield where the Crown Prince met his end.

But it had all been a foolish dream.

Thompson knelt, his voice cracking.

“G, Gale, please spare me.”

Thompson surrendered, abandoning all hope of defeating Gale.

Ram stared at Thompson in disbelief.

Thompson’s pathetic plea for mercy seemed utterly ridiculous.

He and Thompson had sought to kill Gale as part of a larger scheme, with the Crown Prince as their ultimate target.

There was no way Gale was unaware of this.

They were the ones who had attacked the injured Gale immediately after the battle with the Death Knight.

‘I have to survive,’ Ram thought desperately.

Behind Gale lay a mountain of corpses.
Mages and knights, who had easily overwhelmed skeletons and orc warriors, had been slaughtered by a single Sword Master.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that everyone had died almost instantly.

‘Well, even the Crown Prince would be troubled if he killed so many people from Riverhill and Atran. If even Thompson and I return alive, we can somehow package it as killed in action during battle.’

Ram realized that Thompson’s seemingly foolish decision was actually a quick-witted attempt at survival, and he immediately knelt as well.

“Gale!” he cried out, his voice filled with desperation.

With his life hanging in the balance, Ram was a far cry from his usual composed self.

“Please spare me! I think you’re misunderstanding something…”

Swish-!

Thompson’s head flew into the air.

Gale was not one for lengthy conversations. If left to his own devices, he rarely spoke more than a few words a day, and that hadn’t changed.

“G, Gale! Please, I never had any intention of assassinating His Highness the Crown Prince. It’s just that the head of the family ordered me to…”

Gale’s eyes narrowed.

Sensing a shift in Gale’s demeanor, Ram clung to him, his voice rising in panic.

“I was just pretending to follow orders.”

Gale struggled to conceal his surprise.

-When cornered, Ram will do anything to survive.

Ken’s words echoed in his mind.

The night before leaving the Western Command, Ken had accurately predicted this very scenario.

-If Gale and His Highness happen to be separated during the battle, Gale will naturally have to face the strongest enemy and may get injured. Then Ram and Thompson will probably try to eliminate Gale. Gale is the biggest obstacle when eliminating His Highness. When that moment comes, Gale, spare one of them.

Even injured, Ken hadn’t considered the possibility of Gale losing to Ram and Thompson.

-It’s Ram. Ram may seem calm and have a strong sense of pride as an aristocrat, but he is more attached to life than anyone else.

-How can you be so sure?

Gale had asked, skeptical at the time.

If he had to spare one of them, wouldn’t Thompson, who seemed hot-tempered and simple-minded, be the better choice?

-Thompson is a mage. He may seem emotional, but he has a colder reason than anyone else, which is why he reached that level at that age.

Ken’s prediction was unfolding before his eyes.

Ram continued to beg and plead.

“Gale, if you spare me, I’ll do anything!”

Having caught a glimpse of hope, Ram shouted at the top of his lungs.

He no longer resembled the talented aristocrat destined to lead the Atran family, nor the arrogant noble he once was.

* * *

The Lich chuckled, its disembodied head resting on the floor.

Even with its head separated from its body by the chain of wind, the Lich’s voice remained clear.

“I told you, this is where the master is. A place blessed with blessings.”

The black spheres continued to expand.

‘Damn it,’ I thought, biting my lip.

‘Should I try to break through? But Gale isn’t here.’

I could see a passage behind the Lich, where Goran was likely being held.

But the black spheres seemed impenetrable.

Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!

The mud sprites created by the Swamp Fairy skill were unable to withstand the black spheres and exploded on contact.

‘Ugh.’

I fought back a groan.

Since Swamp Fairy was a skill, the destruction of the mud sprites felt like a direct attack on my own magical energy.

I couldn’t show weakness to the Lich.

‘I have no choice but to rely on David and Riorden.’

“Riorden, David, enter!” I shouted.

At my command, Riorden and David charged through the black spheres.

“You’re struggling,” the Lich’s skull chattered, the sight both grotesque and comical.

“You’re just a skull bucket with too much to say,” I retorted.

I sent Sylph flying towards the Lich’s head.

Boom-!

The chain of wind struck the Lich’s skull with precision.

The Lich’s body frantically waved its staff.

‘I need to attack the body,’ I realized, shifting my focus away from the annoying skull.

While the Lich’s constant chatter was irritating, it wasn’t the real threat.

Calculating my remaining mana, I summoned Ignis and Silphelan.

The two spirits flew towards the Lich’s body.

Meanwhile, I spread out the remaining mud sprites to intercept the black spheres.

Kaboom-! Boom-!

Thankfully, the black spheres didn’t discriminate between friend and foe.

The skeletons, which greatly outnumbered us, were being decimated by the black spheres.

Just as David and Riorden were about to reach the passage, the Lich bellowed.

“Dark Wall!”

A massive black wall materialized in front of Riorden and David.

It was unlike any shield I had ever seen.

Riorden and David slashed at the wall with their swords, but their attacks had no effect.

“Aim for the body!” I yelled, immediately adjusting my strategy.

“Ken!”

Ken joined the attack.

The wind of fire engulfed the Lich’s body.

Kaaaaa-! Boom-!

The bones of the Lich’s body were charred black. As my skill ended, Ken, Riorden, and David surged forward.

It all happened in a flash.

The synergy between me and the knights in battle was undeniable.

The Lich seemed to have been momentarily unable to cast another spell, preoccupied with blocking the passage.

As the bones of its body cracked, the Lich’s mouth fell silent.

The black wall blocking the passage vanished.

The magical energy emanating from the skeletons diminished significantly.

And then, Gale appeared at the entrance.

“Your Highness.”

Blood still flowed from Gale’s shoulder.

“Gale!” I exclaimed.

One of the knights rushed to Gale’s side and offered him a potion.

Gale drank it, roughly bandaging his shoulder, and approached me.

“The outside has been cleared.”

Seeing that Ram and Thompson were nowhere to be found, it seemed that one of Ken’s plans had been successfully executed.

Ken, catching his breath, asked, “What happened to Ram?”

“Sealed the mana hole and used the item,” Gale replied.

Ken nodded.

I asked in a low voice, “What about the others?”

Gale answered simply, “Taken care of.”

That meant he had killed them all. Gale’s expression remained unchanged. Killing enemies was second nature to him.

‘He’s truly walking the path of blood,’ I thought grimly.

It was clear that this would be repeated countless times in the future.

“Let’s go,” I said, steeling myself.

Now it was time to confront and defeat the sealed Goran.

Riorden took the lead, while Gale and Ken flanked me, providing protection.

Having two powerful warriors on either side made me feel secure, but the sight of the fallen knights amidst the shattered bones of the skeletons weighed heavily on my heart.

“First… let’s go,” I said, pushing aside my grief.

I wanted to collect the bodies, but there was a more pressing matter at hand.

To honor their sacrifice, I had to prevent Goran’s resurrection.

I left a few Sylphs behind, instructing them to move the bodies outside and gather them carefully.

It was draining my mana, but I didn’t care.

‘Anyway, Goran is sealed and Gale is here, so there won’t be any bigger threats.’

As we entered the passage, darkness enveloped us.

I summoned Salamander and Phoenix to illuminate the way.

The passage was cave-like, but otherwise unremarkable.

It wasn’t long.

Soon, we emerged into a large cavern with a surprisingly high ceiling.

In the center of the cavern stood an altar made of stone.